Field Type

Location

The use of TenarisHydril Blue® connections in a casing while drilling project helped to overcome difficult down hole conditions in a short time frame.

Summary

An effective operational solution
in a short timeframe

A Colombian oil company, looking to try new technologies to improve
their E&P operations, used TenarisHydril Blue® connections in a casing
while drilling project pilot to overcome operational challenges.

The outcome at the pilot well combined TenarisHydril technology
with the expertise of Tenaris string string design and material selection
experts, technical sales engineers and field service specialists, for
an efficient and safe running.

After this successful experience, the customer is considering
expanding the use of TenarisHydril connections, contemplating
different technologies in the portfolio.

Challenges

Overcoming difficult down hole conditions

This important oil company had some experience in casing while drilling
operations in shallow wells, where it typically used API Buttress
connections with torque rings. These shallow well operations present
certain difficulties:

Well-bore conditions such as the presence of shale with high clay
content that could lead to stuck pipe risks.

High torques and compression loads due to restrictions, drag,
dogleg severity and horizontal path length.

Effective hole size; high risk rotating in excess the pipe to reduce
friction while running in hole.

Last but not least, there are no determined torque and compression
values with the torque ring and, since the torque ring is an external
element, it may lead to mechanical problems. It may lead to mechanical
problems. Additionally, the fatigue resistance of Buttress connections
is uncertain.

The drilling team decided to conduct two pilot tests so as to evaluate
the field implementation of casing while drilling as an application
that would help the operator tackle these problems. In order to find
an effective operational solution that complied with the demanding
agenda, the oil company enlisted the expertise of Tenaris’s technical
sales, field services and research and development specialists.

Solution

Committed technical assistance

Due to the tight agenda and within the framework of a long-term
agreement between both companies, Tenaris recommended the
TenarisHydril Blue® connection which was already available
in the company’s inventory.

Even though TenarisHydril Blue® connections have a proven track
record to outperform and in order to support the recommendation
while taking into consideration expected well conditions, the Tenaris
engineering group performed torque and drag and accumulated
damage analyses due to bending in order to predict the accumulated
fatigue level that could happen at the connection. Also,
the Tenaris team performed calculations to determine the permissible
fatigue level that would allow the reliable and most efficient
use of the connection.

The results of these calculations confirmed the recommendation of
the TenarisHydril Blue® connection, which is designed for the most
challenging E&P operations. The technology provides high performance
and versatility, and its parabolic seal contact pressure profile
minimizes galling risk while improving sealing performance stability.

Furthermore, on site Tenaris’s local field service team provided technical
services so as to minimize risk.

Results

Reliable running achieved

Our field service personnel assisted running operations that experienced
zero rejects, disconnections, or downtime due to connection
make-up. The company’s drilling team confirmed that from
a technical point of view running the TenarisHydril Blue® connection
in this casing while drilling application was a success.

The oil company was able to apply the rotation values as predicted
in the analysis.

The initial fatigue simulation showed that under the simulated normal
operating parameters, accumulated fatigue level at the Blue®
connections would be 2.5%, while for Buttress connections it was
estimated to be above 32%. When the simulation was re-run using
the actual operating parameters, the accumulated fatigue level for
the TenarisHydril Blue® connections was slightly higher than predicted
at 3.78%, but still with plenty of a safety margin for the operation.

The customer was able to drill to the desired depth.

Due to the TenarisHydril Blue® connection’s excellent performance,
acknowledging the support of the Tenaris technical sales
and field services local teams and after evaluating all the drilling
operational results, this Colombian operator will consider other connections within the TenarisHydril portfolio in order to optimize
overall activity.

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